Bowling pin spotting mechanism



Feb- 19, 1952 P. M. NEJEDLY ETAL 2,586,697

BOWLING PIN sPoTTING MECHANISM FiledNov. 27, 1945 BY AxEL JoHNssoN ATI-O'RNEY Patented Feb. 19, 1952 UNITED STATE-S FFICEV BOWLING. l'PINV SPOTTINGMECHANISM. Peter M. Nejedly and-Axel Bi Johansson; BrookLv lyn; N;Y., assignors4 to American Machine and" Foundry Gompanyga corporation of New Jersey Application November. 27, 1945;'-Seria1-'Nm 631,094

3 Claims. 1!

This invention lrelates `to bovv1ing-pin settingy machines andY especially to--improvem'ents in pin spotters employed-'in such "machines,- and mechanism=fforinsuring that at all times during the operation of the machine full sets of vpinsfwill be'wspotted in proper playing position 'on a bowl ing alley.

The `invention' relates-chiefly to improvedu pinspott'ersfand safetymechanisrn associated` there with; andI findsl particular use 'in' ab'owlingv pin setting machine of thefgeneral typevdescribed in Rundell patent,v No'. 2,388,707, issuedv November 13; 1945,'1forBovvlingfPin Setter, although its use isf'notscr limited` `and it: may nd application in other Atypesfi-of- 'bowling' pin setting machines.

In ab'owli'ng;'pin'setting-'machinevof the type shown in` theabovefreferred to patent, bowling pins :removed from theJ 'pt -of' fan alley are' corrveyedtoa pin assembling station suchA asV a magazineby suitable` conveying mechanism operating in timed-relation with the other coordinated units cffthe machine.

When a newvset of pins -is required ona bowling alley-during the course of play, a'transfer--device provided withv pin gripping units,r usuallyten are suitableY-A for conveying-'the number of Vpins for playing from the magazine, is actuated to-rernove a-full set of pins-from the `magazine and deliver them" into the spotters-of thepin setter;y

I- the machine mentioned'forpurposes of illus-l f.

tration, the 'spotters are mounted in conventional triangularpin playing'arrangement on 'a spotter table whch'isym'oved toand from the playing bedofanalley: Afterthe: delivery of ten pins to `the' teni spotters, the table is turned to locate the'pins held bythe spotters in upright playing arrangement' ready to be spotted on the alley. The pins are heldin the spotters by suction operated grippers forming, a part of each of the spotters andwhen the table is moved into pin spotting position adjacent the alley, the pins Vare released from Vthe spotters' and deposited vin playing, ar-v rangement on the alley. The table is then moved upwardlyjaway from' the alleyuand 'turned back into pin receivingposit'ion relative to the pin transfer which conveys sets of. pins from the magazine to the spotters. One of`the problems, incident to the proper operation, of a bowling; pin settingrmachne and especiallyr the typefmentioned vis that of insuring that'fullisets vof Vpins will alwaysy loev delivered .to the spotters.and from the spotters rto the playing surfaceof fthe bowling alley in proper ori-spot playing arrangement.

If thespotters .are operating perfectly, Tthere is little: or no danger that' new pinsi--will not-` be gripped'and held 'thereby upon delivery by the transfer# units i therentov both atmthe time they.

are placed inthe spotters` and during therslllfv sequentfhandling .by the spottersuntil they are placedon: thea alley: However..A due to -use andl resulting wear and tear becausev of-Aplayfi pins become wgrn and their handlepand butti ends become; dented-chipped and-split. Although: such use :dcies notnecessarily render` pins, unfit for play unless'fthey'are actually broken;r it doesv raise the problemsrof insuringi that full sets of pins, will be removed-by the transfer;units` fromthe magazine andi conveyed thereby' to the spotters Vand also that allpinsdelivered to thefspotters will remainheldftherein until the; pins arel actually l placed on the alley.

If for'anyr reason a full set oi" pins. is notremoved bythe` transfer lunits from-the magazine,- it. is obviousqthata full set of pinscannot be placedifinthey spotters. It a full set of pins .is

removed by the transfer-units from' the magazine andplaced -inthe spotters and -one or more-of the latter do not unctionproperly.- such pins will bexremovedbyel the-transfer-units and reconveyed-.ftherebyback-towards the magazine.- When this condition prevails, the machine cannotfunce tionaproperlybecause when V.the table is vturned the latten-will strikeanypns-.held in the transfer units and may cause breakage or damage to the transfer uni-ts or tableor both which lwill result in,1oss. o f time and shut. down of the machine.

According to. our invention, we have provided means. for solving; these problems. `and overcoming the accompanying., disadvantages by providing mechanismwhich detects theabsence of a pin from..a,.sp,o tter if. for any reason .a pin isnot delivered. ,thereintoV orif a pinis removed there?A from bya pin` transfer unit .and if. apinOE pins. drops -from. a spotter or Vspotters whenk the `.table is turned.A or.` as.. .it ,moves .downwardly into.. pin settingposition, relative to thealley. Under such conditibnsthe machine-.is stopped before any damage, can becaused andcorrections, suchas supplying. missingpinsto empty spotters, can, be made so. .that a full. set of pins will be set on the alley and vplay ofthe game'continued without undue. loss, of time- It is.an., object lof our. invention, therefore,v to Provide means for insuring that full Sets of pins are at..a1l`; ti'mesplacedjupon the playing, part of la.. bowling ,alleyduring, the operationl ofan automatic bowlngpin setting machine.v

It `is .also an obiect [of our invention Hto proff vide safety detecting mechanisms for insuring that full sets of pins will be set upon the playing bed of a bowling alley during the operation of bowling pin setting machines of which this mechanism forms a part.

It is an added object of our invention to provide each spotter of the plurality of spotters carried by pin setting mechanism, usually ten spotters, with means for stopping the operation of the bowling pin setting machine if less than a full set of pins is placed in or carried by the spotters or if a pin is removed from a spotter during the operation of the setting mechanism in placing pins on the playing bed of a bowling alley.

It is a further object of our invention to provide each spotter of the plurality of spotters carried by the setter table, usually ten, with a detecting device which when for any reason a pin is missing from a spotter effects a stoppage of the machine in order to prevent breakage of parts and allow discrepancies in the number of pins placed on the alley to be adjusted.

It is an additional object of our invention to provide each of the pin spotters of the pin setting mechanism with detectors which function to stop the machine if less than a full set of pins pin or pins drops from the spotters because of .A

faulty spotter operation, to stop the operation of the machine.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists incertain combinations and constructions which will be hereinafter fully described, and then set forth in the claims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and form a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like'parts:

Figure l is a side elevation partly in section, showing a preferred embodiment of our invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1; and

'Figure 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the pin setter table showing the path of the pins from the storage chamber to the cups of the transfer member, the nal positions of the pins for depositing the same on the alley after reversing the pin setter table, and a suitable electric circuit, and associated control means operative to stop the machine if less than a full set of -pins is carried by the pin spotters on the table.

Referring to the drawings, which show a preferred embodiment of the invention, all pins P ferred to the pin setter mechanism, a plurality o employed for operating the grippers.

i transfer units of the pin transfer mechanism (not shown) are moved downwardly into engagement with the butt ends of pins located between the spirals 3B and into gripping relationship therewith so that upon upward movement of the gripper units away from the magazine M, ten pins are carried thereby for delivery into spotters, designated generally 0 (Figure 1). As shown diagrammatically in Figure 3, there are ten spotters occupying pin positions |-|0. The several spotters are mounted upon a table T supported on trunnions 22 for delivering movement to transfer the pins from full line position (shown in Figure 3) to dotted line position T. Pins removed from magazine M are conveyed along broken line paths 20 to thel several spotters ||0.

The several pin spotters IH) are identical in construction and only one need be described in detail. Each of the spotters H0, which is one of the series of ten, or any other suitable number, is mounted on table T in a predetermined position in a triangular playing arrangement. Each spotter is provided with pin handling grippers IM pivotally mounted at H6 on brackets ||8 forming a part of cup` housing |20. 'Ifhe pin engaging surface H5 of each of the gripper jaws ||4 projects through an opening ||3 formed in 1 the conical cup portion ||2 constituting the pin guiding portion of the spotter.

Each spotter is provided with three grippers ||4 located substantially 120 apart (as shown in Figure 2) although additional grippers H4 could be provided if desired. Grippers ||4 are operated by uid actuated mechanism (not shown) similar in construction and operation to that shown and described in Rundell patent, No. 2,310,996. As in the Rundell patent, suction is A suction conduit |22 connected to a suitable source of supply and controlled by a cam operated valve (not shown) is connected to each of the ten spotters and controlled at proper times to cause grippers ||4 to grip and hold and then release the handle ends of pins delivered thereto by grippers 68. Y

A suction control cam |52 is operative to close a switch |54 which actuates the above referred to valve (not shown). This operation creates gripper operating suction in each spotter at the time a pin is delivered thereto by transfer 68 whereby grippers ||4 hold a pin therein when grippers 68 are pulled clear of a pin in a spotter, at the time the table turns to locate the pins in dotted position T (as shown in Figure 3) and also during the time the table is moving downwardly to locate the pins in position on the bowling alley. When the pins held by grippers ||4 are spotted on the alley, the suction valve (not shown) is closed which breaks the suction and grippers ||4 release pins held in the spotters. Table T then rises, turns and moves upwardly to pin receiving position above the alley.

As mentioned hereinabove, if for any reason (l) a pin is not delivered to a spotter or the pin transfer units do not remove a fullset of pins from the magazine, or an imperfect pin falls from a pin transfer unit, or (2) a pin is not iirmly held by grippers |I4 of a particular spotter when delivered to a spotter by the transfer grippers 68 because a worn or damaged pin isV pulled out of the spotter by the pin transfer unit. or because of faulty gripper operation such pins are moved up `and out of the spotters H0, o1'r (3) during the turning'movement and/or downaseege'evf ward vvmovement. of table 'T tov'vard's. the' 'alleyffor' setting pins thereon, a pin falls out of a spotter H0,V4 the machine is automatically stopped so that damage to the machine is positively prevented andthe setting of the proper number of pins in the desired playing arrangementv on the` alley canbe accomplished.

The operation of transfer grippers 68' isfsub' stantially the same as that of similar grippers shown *andl described in the above referred to Rundell Patent 2,388,707. Grippers 68 are moved to-engage and grip the butt ends ofpins 1P aligned in magazine M (see Figure 3), after whichl they areV moved vto carry pins upwardly" 'out ofi magazine-M, and then along vpaths intov tri-- angular arrangement above the ten spotters H0.. The transfer grippers B8 carrying. pins are then' moved downwardly and the handle end 'of eachl pin P carried by its respective gripper 68 (Figure` 1) is inserted into cup portion H2 of a spotter H0 in positionA to be gripped by spotter grippersy H4, at which time switches |28 engaged by the handleends of pins are opened. As noted above',l the operation of the machine is stopped whenever apin is not delivered by a transfer gripperli to a-spotter H0 because its respective switch |28 remains closed, and also whenever. a transfer gripper pulls a pin upwardly out of Ya spotter cupv H2 Abecause its respective openswitch |28 closes automatically. Under such conditions thev circuit through relay |40 is energized whenever switch |54 is`closed, andhence at this time the machine operation is stopped because of the breaking of the circuit through the opening of contacts |42 as the result of the energization of relay |40. It will be seen therefore, that except for the conditions above enumerated and the dropping of a pin from a yspotter as pin spotting table` T'moves towards the'. alley as described above, the machine continues to operate normally in.v effecting the delivery of pins from magazine M into spotters H0 and in placing them onv the playing bed of the alley.

. It will be seen that if a condition should arise where pins are lifted out of one or more spotters and moved back towards the magazine'M, upon turning movement of the table, the latter would strikeagainst depending pins held between transfer units and considerable damage might result to the transfer units and their associated grippers 68 or to the table T or both. If this were to occur, pins might be knocked rearwardly into other operating parts of the machine and in the manner described above cause damage thereto. By stopping the operation of the machine, in accordance with the present invention, whenever a pin is not delivered to a particular spotter or spotters, or drops therefrom during movement of table T after the delivery of pins thereto, this condition cannot arise and damage to the machine is prevented.

In case a pin drops from a pin transfer unit before it is placed in a spotter or if a pin should fall from a spotter during the movement of the table, it is obvious that a full set of pins cannot be set properly on the alley. Stoppage of the machine in this case makes it possible for the dropped pins to be positioned manually in proper on-spot position and the play can continue.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that each spotter l0 is provided with an opening |24 through which projects a spring switch |28 fixed at one end to a non-conducting bracket |28a fastened to housing |20. Switch |28 at its free end is provided with a contact H1 arranged to coact with contact H9 mounted on support |30 also |28 occupiesthe positionindicatf-id in dottedl'nesl in Figure'l. y

Contacts H1, H9 are fconn'ected by"wire`s|32,: |34, respectively. in` multiple in. a control vcircuit |36, |38. A normally-closed'relay |40. ;isf:con^

10i nected in this circuit. A cam:1|52 coactingiwith a switch |54 is also provided for `controlling the energization of relayl |40 inorderto Voperate .relayf |40 in accordance with the operation' of thersuction. control mechanism (not shown) which ac# tuates grippers H4.-

Referencemay be had to co-pendingrBroekhuysen applcationf,..Serial No. 627,608,1led-No'- vember 1l, 1945, for Bowling Pin Setting Machine-rv whichmatured as Patent No. 2,559,274, July.3v,`

1951, for a complete disclosure ofthe suction*` control mechanism for operating grippers H4. Since this specific mechanismforms no part of:

the ,present invention, it is deemed unnecessary.

to show or describe it inV detail.

As shown in Figure 3, relay |40 isy energizedwith the circuit |36, |38 closed which occurs whenever one or more pins `are missingY from or fall out of their respective spotters H0 during the period when suction is.. supplied tosaidl spot-v ters, saidperiod. beingcontrolled by,cam:,|52,^. which during this. time also effects the closing. of switch |54'. Under such conditions-,contacts |42 in afcircuit containingclutch `operating solee noid.3.|2 are opened, and solenoid 3|2V is. de-

energized, causing` shoe l322 to descendand depress control lug1324, thus effecting a1- disene; gagement of clutch'3l8ffrom-shaft 320. SinceA clutch 3|@ is the main :machine driving. clutch,. so long. as the clutch is disengagedthe 'machine cannot operate. Suction is supplied toA saidv spotters and switch |54 is closed from the time the pinsare deposited. in said: spotters until thetable has turned` and reached the alley to` set said pinson the alley.` Shoe 322 is provided with a verticalstem 3|4 the upper endfoflwhi'cli is pivotedr to the varmature 3Hl ofthe solenoid- 3|2. Stem 3|4 is guided 4by meansvofl a suitable stationary bracket 32|3andv an expansion spring 326 isr providedv to effect'a descent of-shoe`322 as soon as solenoid 3|2 is deenergized.

If a full set of pins is delivered to the spotters H0 so that all switches |28 are opened, relay |40 remains deenergized. Since contacts |42 are closed, solenoid 3|2 remains energized and the machine completes its normal cycle,

If during the movement of the table, either when it turns or as it moves downwardly towards the alley andfinto pin setting position relative thereto, a pin should drop yfrom one of the spotters H0 for any reason such as faulty gripper operation, failure of suction to properly actuate the grippers H4 or a damaged pin not being properly held by grippers H4, relay |40 is energized because during that time cam |52 has closed switch |54 and 'the circuit |36, |38 is closed due to one or more safety switches |28 in spotters H0 being closed due to missing pins. The energization of relay |40 causes an opening of contacts |42 in circuit 3|0 to solenoid 3|2 and clutch 3|8 is thrown out thereby stopping the machine. In a condition of this type, the dropped pin may be removed manually, the machine can be restarted by suitable means (not shown) the pins carried 'by the spotters are set upon the alley, and the dropped pin can be set in proper` position manually.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device, selected to illustrate the invention, is but one of many possible concrete embodiments of the same. It is not, therefore, to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

,What we claim is:

1. Ina bowling pin setting machine having a cycle during the operation of which bowling pins are delivered to pin spotters on a pin spotter frame and placed thereby in playing position upon a bowling alley, operating means for said machine, mechanism operative during said portion of said cycle for determining the presence or absence of a bowling pin in each of said spotters, said mechanism including a pin engaging-and detecting device mounted on each of said spotters, means positioning each of said devices for engagement by the handle end of a pin placed in a spotter, and means actuated by said detecting ldevices during the `operation of said mechanism for stopping said machine operating means in response to the absence of a bowling pin from any of said spotters.

2. In a bowling pin setting machine having a cycle during a portion of which bowling pins are delivered to pin spotters on a pin spotterv frame and placed thereby in playing position upon `a bowling alley, a driving shaft for said machine, a driven member, a clutch, means for connecting said clutch in operative engagement with said shaft and said driven member to op-v erate said machine to move said spotters to a pin delivery position adjacent said alley when a iull'set of pins is to be delivered by said spotters to said alley bed, and mechanism for pref venting the operation of said machine if a pin v is missing from any of said spotters, said mechanism including a control mechanism, means for operating said control mechanism during said portion of said cycle of said machine when pins are delivered to said spotters and during the delivery of pins by said spotters to said alley bed, pin actuated detectors mounted on each oi said spotters, and clutch disengaging means op.- erative by said detectors in response to the fao 8 absence of a pin from any of said spotters while said control mechanism is operated for throwing out said clutch to disconnect said driving shaft from said driven member.

3. In a bowling pin setting machine, a pin setting table, a plurality of pin spotters provided with pin holding means mounted in playing arrangement on said table, said table being adapted to be moved from pin receiving position to and from pin spotting position relative to a bowling alley, a pin transferring means adapted to convey pins from a loading station and deliver the same to said spotters, means for driving said machine, including a drive shaft, a driven member, a clutch coupling said shaft and said driven member, a pin actuated detector associated with each of said spotters, a normally closed switch operated by each of said detectors, a normally closed clutch operating circuit, a solenoid in said circuit for operating said clutch, a normally open electric circuit including a parallel circuit connecting each of said switches in said lastnamed circuit, and means operative in response to the closing of a switch circuit due to the absence of a pin in a spotter for breaking -said clutch operating circuit and de-energizing said solenoid to throw out said clutch and uncouple said driving shaft from said driven members, whereby further operation of said machine is prevented.

PETER M. NEJEDLY. AXEL B. JOHANSSON.

REFERENCES CITED y The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date 

